Omarosa says on 'Big Brother' country is not going to be OK

by WSYX/WTTE

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2016 file photo, Omarosa Manigault smiles at reporters as she walks through the lobby of Trump Tower in New York. Manigault Newman is a cast member on "Celebrity Big Brother," premiering Thursday on CBS. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

(AP) —

Omarosa Manigault Newman is starting to tell her story, as promised. And her story is that America is not going to be OK under President Donald Trump.

"No," a tearful Manigault Newman, who left her White House job in December, tells her co-star, Ross Mathews, on a clip teasing "Celebrity Big Brother" when he asks if the country will be OK. "It's going to not be OK." She adds, in a whisper: "It's so bad."

The show shared the clip on Twitter. It premieres at 8 p.m. EST Thursday on CBS.

In response, the White House reminded reporters at the daily briefing that Manigault Newman was fired three times on "The Apprentice" — and once by the White House.

"Not very seriously," said spokesman Raj Shah, when asked about the White House reaction to the comments. "Omarosa was fired three times on 'The Apprentice.' And this was the fourth time we let her go. She had limited contact with the president while here. She has no contact now."

In the clip, Manigault Newman says she was "haunted by tweets every single day," and wondered, "what is he going to tweet next?" She says she wanted to stop him, but "all the people around him attacked me," blocking her access.

Mathews then asks who does have the power to influence the president. "It's not my circus, not my monkeys," replies Manigault Newman. "I'd like to say not my problem, but I can't say that because it's bad."

Manigault Newman was an assistant to the president and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison until she left in December.

Earlier in the clip, Mathews tells her that he "never got" why she joined the White House.

"It was a call to duty," she says. "I felt like I was serving my country, not serving him ... it was always about the country."

Manigault Newman told "Good Morning America" in December that she had "quite a story to tell."

"And when I can tell my story, it is a profound story that I know the world will want to hear," she said.